Weekly Market Wrap – The leafy suburbs continue to attract buyers

Dreams of owning a house on a half-acre block among the gum trees are still alive in Melbourne’s north east.

The leafy locales of North Warrandyte and Park Orchards are the city’s two cheapest suburbs for average price per square metre, according to realestate.com.au.

The sprawling block sizes and family-friendly lifestyle are luring buyers from Whitehorse, Manningham and Stonnington 25kms north east of the city’s fringe. Good public transport and freeway connections were also high on the shopping list.

Buyers paying the median house price on an average sized property in North Warrandyte and Park Orchards would be set back $239 and $536 per square metre respectively. In comparison, East Melbourne and Middle Park will cost you $12,052 and $11,268 per square metre respectively.

If proximity to Melbourne’s hustle and bustle is a priority on your house-hunting checklist don’t fret, it’s still possible to find affordable three and four-bedroom homes if you do your research.

Sunshine (median house price of $714,000) and Reservoir ($765,000) are both located less than 15kms from the CBD and offer great value for quarter-acre blocks. There’s no shortage of beautiful period houses, including art deco and weatherboards, so you can live the great Australian dream just a stone’s throw from Melbourne.